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Michael Chiesa Claims He Almost Died From Botched UFC 226 Weight Cut

Michael Chiesa pushed himself to the limit in his UFC 226 weight cut.

The post Michael Chiesa Claims He Almost Died From Botched UFC 226 Weight Cut appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

The UFC can not institute the 165-pound weight class soon enough.

Michael “Maverick” Chiesa stepped on the scale for the UFC 226 weigh-ins last Friday (July 6, 2018) weighing 157.5-pounds, 1.5-pounds more than the lightweight non-title fight limit. As a result, before his main card bout with Anthony “Showtime” Pettis, Chiesa said he would be moving up to 170 pounds, win or lose.

Chiesa would go on to lose his second straight fight at UFC 226 when Pettis caught the TUF winner in a fight-ending triangle choke. But upon further review, losing the fight was perhaps a secondary concern for Chiesa, who realistically put his health in danger by attempting to cut so much weight.

Speaking with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani earlier today, Chiesa would detail just how difficult this weight cut was for him.

“I can’t emphasize this enough, Ariel: I seriously thought I was going to die,” Chiesa said. “Going through the first part of my weight cut, on Thursday, I really thought I was going to kill myself and I’m not exaggerating in the slightest.”

Chiesa has been dealing with an on again off again type foot injury, but he insisted his nagging injury had nothing to do with his performance, rather, he just pushed his body to the limit.

“Ultimately my body had nothing to give,” he said. “When you can’t do road work for a week-and-a-half, that’s really hard on your weight cut. I came into fight week at 175 pounds, and usually I come into fight week at 169, 168 pounds. It was just too much for my body to handle.”

“We cut weight for eight hours. We cut for four hours on Thursday night and I was up at 5 a.m. cutting weight on the day of weigh-ins [Friday] and my body had nothing more to give. I’m not exaggerating: I thought I was going to die. In the middle of the night before the Friday weigh-ins, I woke up and started having a panic attack. I broke down and started crying and was like, ‘I think I’m going to die.’

A dejected Chiesa would state he is moving up to 170-pounds, after some time to reflect “Maverick” isn’t sure where he will be competing moving forward.

“I was already in talks with people around me. Win or lose, after this fight, I think I want to go up,” he said. “A lot of people are trying to steer me to 170 pounds. I’m a big guy; people don’t realize that. There’s only one guy at 170 that’s bigger than me, and that’s Darren Till. I’m not a small guy. I can get up to 205 pounds and be athletic and be in shape.”

The talk of adding more weight classes continues to be a hot-button topic in the UFC. Chiesa is the latest in a long line of high-level fighters that would welcome the 165-pound class with open arms.

“If [the 165-pound weight class] happens, it happens. If it does, I welcome it with open arms. I’m a big advocate for it. If they add 165 pounds, it would be heaven sent. It would be a blessing to a lot of us guys.”

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Gilbert Melendez Wants to Drop Down to Featherweight and Fight For The Belt

The post Gilbert Melendez Wants to Drop Down to Featherweight and Fight For The Belt appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Former Strikeforce Lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez hasn’t had the most successful run in the UFC ever since he joined the promotion in 2013. Losing four out of his past five fights “El Nino” has struggled to replicate the success that made him Strikeforce Lightweight champion. Melendez who is now 34 years old is considered by many to be on the back nine of his 15-year fighting career, after his loss to Edson Barboza in July of last year it was uncertain if we would ever see the former “scrap pack” member step foot into the octagon again.

In an interview with MMAjunkie Radio Melendez revealed that he plans on moving down to featherweight and making “one last (title) run.” Melendez has fought at 155 pounds for the majority of his career and hasn’t competed at 145 pounds or below since 2005, but with his career currently at a stand still he believes it is time for a change.

“Until I book a fight at 145, I can’t really confirm that (I’m dropping), but yeah, that’s my goal right now, I’m trying to slim up. I’m really trying to diet and lose this fat around the belly a little bit more and really maximise my body’s potential. Once I get to that point, which should be in the next few weeks, I’ll really be able to make that jump and make that big decision. That’s my goal, is to make 145. That’s what I’m working on right now at this point.”

Melendez hasn’t reached out to the UFC to discuss it with them yet but says he is “trying to get ready mentally, physically” first and believes that he is nearing that point.

“I haven’t really reached out to them to tell them exactly, ‘This is what I want and what I’m going with,’” Melendez said. “I haven’t got to that point yet. I’m trying to get ready mentally, physically. I’m trying to get to that point where I’m just about there, and I’ll be reaching that soon and be able to pull the trigger on this.”

“I’d like to prove I’m one of the toughest in the division with a solid opponent who is willing to fight me and not stick and move, If I can get that, it would be great. I’m looking for one last (title) run.”

Melendez believes that moving down a weight class can rejuvenate his once illustrious career and that he can genuinely compete with the killers at 145 pounds. It is easier said and done to drop down a weight class, we have seen it with Anthony Pettis when he dropped down to 145 pounds to fight Max Holloway at UFC 206. Pettis missed weight and then went on to lose the fight by TKO in the third round, hopefully we won’t see it play out the same for Melendez.

The post Gilbert Melendez Wants to Drop Down to Featherweight and Fight For The Belt appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Gilbert Melendez Wants to Drop Down to Featherweight and Fight For The Belt

The post Gilbert Melendez Wants to Drop Down to Featherweight and Fight For The Belt appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

“Until I book a fight at 145, I can’t really confirm that (I’m dropping), but yeah, that’s my goal right now, I’m trying to slim up. I’m really trying to diet and lose this fat around the belly a little bit more and really maximise my body’s potential. Once I get to that point, which should be in the next few weeks, I’ll really be able to make that jump and make that big decision. That’s my goal, is to make 145. That’s what I’m working on right now at this point.”

Melendez hasn’t reached out to the UFC to discuss it with them yet but says he is “trying to get ready mentally, physically” first and believes that he is nearing that point.

“I haven’t really reached out to them to tell them exactly, ‘This is what I want and what I’m going with,’” Melendez said. “I haven’t got to that point yet. I’m trying to get ready mentally, physically. I’m trying to get to that point where I’m just about there, and I’ll be reaching that soon and be able to pull the trigger on this.”

“I’d like to prove I’m one of the toughest in the division with a solid opponent who is willing to fight me and not stick and move, If I can get that, it would be great. I’m looking for one last (title) run.”

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Biggest Winners & Losers From UFC 206

The post Biggest Winners & Losers From UFC 206 appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Kicking off in Toronto, Canada this past Saturday December 10, UFC 206 proved to be a beast of a card. Capping off another double-header of UFC events, the pay-per-view performed strongly in the face of stacked odds. After dramas with Georges St-Pierre, the loss of the main event and Anthony Pettis missing weight, it looked as though UFC 206 was cursed. Although the short notice main event was now only an interim title bout for Max Holloway, this made little difference at the end of the show.

Showing once again that cards can perform well without McGregor or Rousey, at least in terms of entertainment, UFC 206 was spot on. Following such an exciting show, Monday morning will be a mix of joy and sorrow for the card’s competitors. Join us as we recap the action, and pick out who won big, and lost most at UFC 206.

Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

Max Holloway

The biggest win of his career puts Max Holloway in a very elite bracket. Joining the top five longest win streaks in UFC history is sweet enough, but to taste UFC gold from his victory is the icing on the proverbial cake. Taking out Anthony Pettis with a third round TKO, ‘Blessed’ now lines himself for a unification bout with Jose Aldo.

Holloway out-struck Pettis in every round, landing significant strikes at 45% accuracy with a total of 98 out of 212. Holloway landed both attempted takedowns while stuffing both of Pettis’. The future is very bright for the streaking Hawaiian, and a legacy defining fight with ‘Scarface’ awaits, hopefully.

Anthony Pettis

Taking away literally nothing from UFC 206, Anthony Pettis had a terrible time. Failing to make weight for the first time in his career, ‘Showtime’ looked a shell of his former self. Even in his drained featherweight debut against Charles Oliveira, Pettis looked promising. Clearly the brutal weight cut, which he couldn’t complete, took a lot from the ex-lightweight champion.

At the least now he knows lightweight is the only viable option, but this will likely provide little comfort after such a one-sided loss. This is the fight game, things are often severely difficult, and 1-4 in his last five fights, let’s hope Pettis is able to turn around his run of bad fortune.

Donald Cerrone/Matt Brown

Leading up to round three, Matt Brown was actually ahead in significant strikes landed. Donald Cerrone had arguably won the first frame, and Brown the second, and the third round was where it was all to play for. Needing just four significant strikes to get the job done in style, ‘Cowboy’ came away with another huge KO win. For Cerrone, either a bout with Demian Maia or a title fight are next, dependant on circumstance.

For ‘The Immortal’ its sadly a very different predicament. After his UFC 206 loss, Brown rides three straight defeats, and has won just once in his last six outings. He’s been knocked out twice in a row, and started his current losing streak with a submission loss against Demian Maia. After talk of serious concussion earlier this year, some decisions clearly need to be made. Matt Brown is an awesome guy, great fighter and entertaining to watch, but maybe 36 fights in to his 12-year career, it’s time to consider retirement.

Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski for USA TODAY Sports

Swanson & Choi’s War

Although Cub Swanson took the unanimous decision win, Doo Ho Choi loses zero stock from his first UFC defeat. This fight was thrilling from the first punch to the last, with back-and-forth exchanges keeping us on the edge of our seats. Easily a contender for ‘fight of the year,’ Swanson and Choi had the crowds roaring with excitement during their epic slugger.

‘Killer Cub’ made a huge impression, but perhaps needs one or two more bouts before being considered for a title fight. What’s next? Number one contender bout for Swanson. ‘Korean Superboy’ remains fringe top 10, so perhaps a tune-up is on the cards.

Kelvin Gastelum & Tim Kennedy

This was an extremely ugly fight for Tim Kennedy, who hadn’t seen action since 2014. Returning against the middleweight version of Kelvin Gastelum, Kennedy was met with a painful lesson. ‘Mini Cain’ looked sharper, more conditioned and simply better than Kennedy in every respect. Taking nothing away from Gastelum, Kennedy did look quite rusty.

What’s next? After beating Kennedy by TKO at UFC 206, Gastelum clearly needs to stay at 185 pounds. Barely making or missing weight at 170 pounds just wasn’t working out, and he looked great against the bigger man in Kennedy on Saturday. For the latter, there are some great fights to make at 185 pounds, but perhaps someone like Vitor Belfort or Anderson Silva would make sense. Maybe Uriah Hall?

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UFC 206 Countdown: Holloway vs Pettis

UFC 206 is set to go down next weekend (Saturday December 10, 2016) from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and will be main evented by a massive interim featherweight title bout between No. 2-ranked Max Holloway and No. 5-ranked Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis. Holloway (16-3) is coming off of a unanimous decision win

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Holloway (16-3) is coming off of a unanimous decision win over Ricardo Lamas in their UFC 199 meeting back in June, marking the ninth consecutive UFC victory for the 25-year-old mixed martial artist (MMA).

Pettis (19-5) comes off of a successful 145-pound debut over Charles Oliveira in August, as the former lightweight champion is looking to grab his second UFC strap in his fighting career. ‘Showtime’ would become the fourth fighter in UFC history to have held two titles in different weight classes in promotion history.

You can check out the UFC’s full UFC 206 Countdown: Holloway vs. Pettis special here:

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